Got your motor running, Mock Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Sauce

I keep mementos that mean a lot to me, especially cards, or things the children and now their children have made for me over the years. On my tree you’ll find paper ornaments with gobs of glue topped with glitter and small footprints in plaster of Paris hung with pipe cleaners. I’m sentimental, what can I say.

For those of you that read regularly, you’ll know that I’m packing up the house in my spare moments as we’ll be moving in the spring. While I’m packing, I often find myself sitting on the floor looking through the thousands of pictures I have amassed over a lifetime.

Yesterday, I came across one of my mother and I in front of our house when I was in seventh grade. Why do you always look like a total geek in old pictures? At least I do. Obviously my mother had been going through her curler phase, yes I said curlers, as my hair was a mass of springy curls and was clipped back with a red velvet bow to keep it out of my face. This giving me the look of a well-groomed water spaniel.

Christmas lights are evident hanging from the eaves of the house and a wreath is hanging on the door. Parked in the driveway is a black car worthy of stunt action in an Elliot Ness movie. This, allowed me to pinpoint the exact year the picture was taken. That was a strange year. Three years prior my mother had married my stepfather and shortly thereafter we’d relocated to Southern California from Nova Scotia, a big leap both geographically and culturally.

My mother, always wanted to be a personal shopper. The woman is extremely talented at picking out just the right item for other people, or for the home, but not the least gifted at picking out men. From all accounts my father was the exception, but unfortunately he died unexpectedly at twenty-five. Her second shot at the altar was far less successful, unfortunately, and that year would be the last year that we shared a residence.

Two days before Christmas, the tree was up and decorated, Christmas songs dominated the radio stations, and our stockings were hung over the fireplace. During the summer of that year, my parents had purchased a new car. Up until that point my mother drove a turquoise and white Nash Metropolitan. For those of you who have had the pleasure of driving in this mini me version of an automobile, you will attest to the fact that it has the seating capacity of two preschoolers and a miniature schnauzer. If there was another adult in the car with us, being the child, I was crammed in the backseat my body oozing out on both sides like two pounds of mashed potatoes in a one pound container. Miraculously, I grew up without my knuckles dragging the ground as I walked.

The new car was a godsend, for me at least. This until the week before Christmas when my stepfather attended a holiday office party, took a great deal of cheer home in his bloodstream, and totalled the new car on his way. Sigh. In truth, his enjoyment of cheer extended far beyond the holidays, so my mother decided it was time for she and I to find a place of our own.

As it was the holidays, the insurance company scrambled to find us temporary transportation. Hence, Bonnie and Clyde’s vehicle of choice, visible in the picture (actually a late 1940′s or early 1950′s model). Where they even found a car that old makes me wonder, but they did and we had it. After explaining the workings of the gear shift to my mother, who just kept nodding her head and looking confused, the agent left us alone with the beast.

Christmas Day mother made a gallant effort at celebrating, although the mood in the house could not be lightened even with the candle lights bubbling festively on the tree. The following day wasn’t much improved. I went to bed that night dressed my new flannel pajamas. Around 3:00 a.m. my mother woke me and in a hushed voice said we were leaving. I was to grab the cat, pack a few clothes, and anything I might need for a few weeks away from home. Sensing her urgency, I did as I was told.

It was dark and cold outside, and my eyes still had sleep in them. Our only option for hitting the road was the black beast who sat quietly, it’s grill looking as though it was stuck in an evil grimace.

Quietly, we loaded up the car and with Peaches the cat nestled on my lap, my mother started the engine. After several tries involving grinding and swearing alternately, the gear shift dropped into reverse and we backed out into the street. Grinding again into first we chugged off down the road. It was explained that we were to visit a friend of ours about an hour’s drive away, and that Eleanor, or El to us, was expecting us.

I curled up in the back seat with Peaches and in spite of the constant grinding and jerking fell back to sleep. About a half an hour later as we were driving through a deserted area of the foothills, the old car gave out a last wheeze and stopped completely. Mother pulled over to the side of the road and turning the lights off darkness moved in on us. Oh-oh. Turning the ignition several times with no response, we just sat in the quiet for a while, until it began to get cold.

Opening my suitcase she had me put on layers of clothing over my pajamas, and tennis shoes. Nobody on the road, I tucked the cat inside my shirt and we began to walk towards a college campus located in a rural area on the other side of the hill. With no light to compete with them the stars shined brightly in the sky. An occasional hoot or rustling in the trees kept us moving along at a fairly brisk pace.

Lights suddenly broke through the darkness and the sound of a car engine echoed through the woods. Standing at the side of the road my mother’s arm around my shoulders, I felt her shiver. Whether due to fear or the cold, I couldn’t be sure. Our faces illuminated in the headlights, the car slowed and then stopped. When the car door opened, I felt my heart beating through my shirt. A man, older than my parents, stepped out and walked towards us.

As it turned out he was an ambulance driver, headed home from a late shift. His wife and sleeping toddlers were in the car. Making room for us and Peaches, they gave us a ride all the way to El’s house and dropped us off. Angels are everywhere, I would suppose.

Mock Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt onto large plate 3 or more times. Put in large bowl.

Heat milk over med. heat in small saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat. Whisk in flour and keep stirring until mixture is smooth.

In separate mixing bowl beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter until completely r. Pour into ungreased 10″ angel food tube pan. Bake for 45 mins. until golden. Invert onto rack to cool. Remove from pan when completely cooled.

Raspberry Sauce

1 pkg. frozen raspberries, thawed with juice
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/3 cup white sugar (I used Splenda)
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold water
Whipped cream

Thaw frozen berries. Put in medium saucepan and add water and orange juice. Mix together cornstarch and water. Add to berries and juice. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and either serve when slightly cooled or refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serve with fresh berries over cake topped with whipped topping. Yum.